Hey, all! Today I am going to keep it sweet and short since many of you, students, faculty and staff alike, are celebrating Easter today (the Monday edition). If you are, I want you to put this into perspective, as if COVID-19 didn’t send us all away from campus:

You’re still in your dorms. You’re studying for exams and doing your whole bucket of homework for Monday, maybe with your friends or maybe not. You aren’t with your family on a very family-driven holiday. You aren’t showered with attention, chocolate, or whatever else happens on Easter. It’s Ames, so maybe it’s snowing and you’re locked inside (worst case scenario). Easter is no longer an important or family-driven holiday. 

But, guess what? You’re home with your families and celebrating holidays that you may not be able to on a college campus. When you leave college, you never realize that holidays that happen during the school year are usually never celebrated with your families for quite some time, maybe ever. But here we are. Another holiday at home with our families. One more year. 

I want to keep this one short so we can all get back to our families in the best ways we know how. Take this time to appreciate being with them on another holiday. Through this whole experience, I think we can all admit that we have graduated to another level of thankfulness for the things we thought would always be ordinary. Stay safe! Don’t eat too much chocolate! And have fun.